Saima Rashid, SVP, Marketing and Revenue Analytics at 6sense highlights more on what it takes to truly build synergies and synchronies between Sales-Marketing-Revenue teams in this MarTech Interview by MarTechSeries:

__________ 

Hi Saima, take us through your B2B tech journey so far…

I’ve always been drawn to the intersection of data, technology, and customer experience. Early in my career, I saw firsthand how data could transform marketing and sales outcomes when used effectively — but also how disconnected systems and siloed insights held teams back.

Before joining 6sense, I was a 6sense customer myself, leveraging intent data and AI to drive predictable revenue growth. That experience gave me a deep appreciation for what works (and what doesn’t) in go-to-market strategies. Now that I’m here at 6sense, I get to help other revenue teams achieve the same success by making data actionable and aligning teams around shared outcomes.

For someone who has to align analytics, data and revenue workflows, what type of tools do you often rely on to power your processes?

The right tech stack eliminates friction and aligns teams on a single source of truth. You want any and all data to be accurate, timely and in-context.

For revenue leaders, tech tools should activate data in a way that supports sales, marketing, and customer success teams in their decision making. The tools I use daily do a few things:

• They unify customer signals across multiple sources (intent data, CRM, engagement platforms, etc.)
• They provide visibility and surface insights when and where teams need them – with a mix of leading and lagging indicators
• They enable orchestration so marketing, sales, and customer success can move in sync

How can today’s marketing teams have a stronger marketing ops and rev ops model that allows for a more seamless chain and transfer of data and insights to build robust customer and prospect journeys?

The best revenue teams don’t operate in silos. I know that is easy to say and very hard to do, but in order to be a really successful revenue org, they need to think and act as one team, with marketing, sales, customer success, and ops fully aligned on data, engagement strategies, and revenue goals. But getting there takes more than just plugging in a new tool or running a one-time alignment workshop.

You need a shared foundation — one source of truth that ensures everyone is looking at the same data. Too often, marketing is tracking one set of data, sales is looking at another, and customer success has yet another. If those insights aren’t connected, it’s impossible to create a seamless experience for customers.

Then, it’s about clarity and SLAs. Every team needs to know when and how they should use that data to engage prospect and customer accounts. That means defining the right moments for marketing to drive awareness and when sales should step in. If there’s ambiguity about those handoffs, opportunities slip through the cracks.

AI and automation also play a big role in helping teams stay aligned and on the same page. AI can surface the right signals so sales knows exactly when to reach out, rather than relying on gut feel or outdated lead scoring. The key is making sure those insights don’t just live in dashboards but are integrated into the team’s daily workflow.

And finally, a shared operating model isn’t something you set and forget. It requires constant iteration —  looking at data in real time together, refining engagement strategies, and making sure every touchpoint is driving real business impact. Regular meeting cadences with the right people in the room help to “find the red”, address it, and drive shared outcomes. Because at the end of the day, the goal of the operating model isn’t just to make internal teams more efficient, it’s to create a better experience for the buyer .

Marketing Technology News: MarTech Interview with Travis Clinger, Chief Connectivity & Ecosystem Officer at LiveRamp

What do most B2B marketing and sales teams get wrong when trying to align revenue operations to unify multi-team efforts?

The biggest mistake is thinking alignment is just about getting everyone in a room and agreeing on a process. In reality, it’s an ongoing discipline — something that needs to be reinforced, measured, and adjusted over time.

One of the most common issues is that teams rely on outdated ways of measuring success. If marketing is still tracking MQLs and sales is focused on pipeline without a shared understanding of what truly signals buying intent, they’re speaking two different languages. The teams that get it right look beyond lead counts and focus on how accounts are actually engaging — who’s involved, what they’re consuming, and where they are in the buying journey.

Another challenge is messy handoffs. If marketing and sales aren’t aligned on who owns what stage of engagement, things fall apart quickly. If sales jumps in too early, it can feel like a cold pitch. If marketing holds on too long, high-intent opportunities might not get the attention they need. Having clear rules of engagement ensures the right action happens at the right time.

And then there’s the follow-through. Even when teams set alignment goals, many don’t take the time to inspect and refine. The most successful revenue teams have a regular cadence for checking what’s working, identifying gaps, and making real-time adjustments. Alignment isn’t a one-and-done exercise — it’s a habit.

As marketers and sales teams start relying more on AI powered martech and salestech to scale efforts, what deployment best practices should they keep in mind?

AI can be a game-changer for marketing and sales teams, but only if it’s deployed with a clear purpose. Too often, companies adopt AI because they feel like they should, not necessarily because they have a defined strategy for how it will improve their go-to-market motion.

Start with the problem you’re trying to solve. AI works best when it’s embedded into existing workflows to remove friction, not when it’s added as another layer of complexity. Are you trying to prioritize accounts more effectively? Improve personalization at scale? Speed up response times? The goal should dictate how AI is applied, not the other way around.

Next, really commit to adoption. Even the best AI tools are a wasted investment if marketing and sales teams don’t use them. Take full advantage of all the onboarding resources available when you invest in AI. Ideally, the AI should be integrated seamlessly into the platforms teams already rely on — CRM, email, sales engagement tools — so insights are surfaced at the right moment without too much extra effort. But training and enablement are just as important as the technology itself.

Another key consideration is ensuring AI isn’t just automating outreach but using real buyer context to drive meaningful engagement. I like to say that context is king when it comes to AI. Without the right context — understanding why a buyer is engaging, not just that they are — AI can generate noise instead of insight. When AI has the right context, it empowers teams to engage with precision, making every interaction more impactful.

And finally, measurement and iteration are critical. AI models improve over time, but only if teams are actively reviewing results, gathering feedback, and refining their approach. It’s important to track not just if AI is being used, but how it’s impacting key metrics like engagement rates, deal velocity, and conversion rates.

At the end of the day, AI should make revenue teams more effective, not just more efficient.

A few thoughts on how you feel the future of martech and salestech is set to shape up?

The future of martech and salestech seems to be shifting toward more intelligence, less friction, and greater integration. Instead of just automating tasks, I think we’ll see AI guide go-to-market teams, helping them engage buyers more effectively at scale.

Obviously, one of the biggest areas of focus for the foreseeable future will be AI-driven engagement. It’ll be interesting to see which of these tools make a real difference and which ones just add to tech bloat, but my sense is that a key differentiator will be context and orchestration. I think we’ll see more interest in tools that seamlessly integrate into workflows and provide high-confidence insights teams can use to build pipeline and move deals forward.

We’re also seeing a shift away from fragmented point solutions toward more integrated platforms. Many teams juggle a complex stack of tools that don’t always work well together, creating inefficiencies. Orchestrating across a complex buyer’s journey is the top strategic priority for GTM leaders, but siloe’d tech and processes create high collaboration drag across programs, and a disjointed experience for prospects. The trend is moving toward unified solutions that connect data, automate workflows, and provide a clearer picture of the full revenue journey.

Finally, there’s a growing focus on turning data into action. Many revenue teams struggle with too much information and not enough insight. Future martech and salestech solutions will likely emphasize curating and synthesizing signals so teams can make better, faster decisions.

Marketing Technology News: The Sentient Segment: How AI-driven Predictive Psychology Is Reshaping Martech